What to Do After a Car Accident in Florida With An Uninsured Driver

If you are a Florida driver, then you know that the law requires you to carry a certain amount of auto insurance as a condition of registering your vehicle in the state. A driver who fails to carry the required insurance faces the suspension of their Florida driver’s license for up to 3 years. But what happens if you are involved in a car accident caused by an uninsured driver? Does that mean you are unable to seek compensation for your injuries related to the accident?

Florida’s No-Fault Insurance Rules

In most cases, you are still partially covered even if the other driver is not. Florida is known as a “no-fault” state when it comes to auto insurance. Essentially, your insurance policy is designed to cover you and other people inside of your vehicle in the event of an accident.

This insurance is “no-fault” because it does not matter whether you or another driver caused the accident.

Florida no-fault auto insurance must provide at least $10,000 in both personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability (PDL). PIP coverage is the “no-fault” component and provides compensation for your medical bills and lost income due to a car accident. Specifically, your policy will cover 80 percent of your reasonably incurred necessary medical expenses and 60 percent of your lost income arising from the accident.

Keep in mind, however, that your total compensation is subject to the policy limit. So if you only purchased the minimum amount of coverage required by Florida law, then your insurer will never compensate you more than $10,000 for your personal injury. And this does not cover any type of non-economic loss, such as your pain and suffering due to your injuries.

Unlike PIP benefits, PDL coverage is fault-based. Your PDL coverage kicks in if you are responsible for causing damage to another driver’s vehicle in a car accident. The same would apply to any driver who damages your car–their PDL coverage would have to pay for the repairs. Again, the minimum amount of PDL coverage required in Florida is just $10,000.

Serious Injuries and Bodily Injury Liability Coverage

You will note that Florida law does not require you to carry any sort of insurance coverage with respect to bodily injury liability (BIL). This refers to coverage that applies when a negligent driver causes injury to you, or vice versa. You might assume that such coverage is not even available in Florida due to the existence of no-fault PIP coverage. But that is not the case at all.

Any driver can elect to purchase optional BIL coverage. That said, there is no legal requirement to do so. Florida’s insurance requirements only apply to PIP and PDL coverage. So why would anyone choose to purchase BIL coverage?

The short answer is that there are car accidents where a person sustains what the law considers a “serious” injury that goes beyond the scope of what PIP benefits were meant to cover. If your injuries in a car accident meet this serious injury threshold, then you are entitled to sue the negligent driver who caused your car accident. You are not required to rely exclusively on your own PIP coverage. And if the responsible driver has purchased BIL coverage, then you can seek to collect against that policy. Otherwise, the negligent driver is personally on the hook for any damages you can establish.

How Uninsured Motorist Coverage Can Help

Which brings us back to our original question: What happens if you are hit by an uninsured driver? Despite the legal requirements, many Florida drivers have no form of auto insurance whatsoever, including PIP or PDL coverage. How does this affect your right to seek compensation following a car accident?

Whether or not the other driver has insurance does not affect your right to seek PIP coverage under your own policy. If your vehicle was damaged, however, you cannot seek compensation from the negligent driver’s PDL coverage because there is none. And if you sustained a serious injury, there is no BIL coverage against which you can file a claim.

In this scenario, your own insurance policy may again be in a position to help. You can elect to purchase uninsured motorist (UM) coverage as part of your overall insurance package. Again, UM coverage is not required by law. But it is often a good idea to have some UM coverage, as it expressly protects you in a situation where you are hit by an uninsured driver.

UM coverage is exactly what it sounds like: It provides coverage in the event you are hit by a driver who does not have auto insurance to cover your accident. In this context, a hit-and-run driver would also be considered an uninsured motorist. Just like PIP benefits, UM coverage can pay for your medical bills, lost income, and other damages arising from an accident. You can also purchase underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, which can fill in the gap between your total damages in a car accident and the limits of the negligent driver’s liability coverage.

Hit by an Uninsured Driver? JustCallMoe Today!

The complexity of Florida’s auto insurance system means that getting hit by an uninsured driver is not necessarily as problematic as it might be in other states. It is still important, however, to take appropriate steps following an accident involving an uninsured driver. This includes seeking prompt medical attention to preserve your right to seek PIP benefits. You also need to notify your insurance company of the accident as soon as possible.

Finally, you should not hesitate to work with a qualified Orlando car accident lawyer who can review your current insurance and advise you of your options for seeking compensation. The team at JustCallMoe Injury and Accident Attorneys will be happy to sit down with you and answer any questions you might have. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.